On the evening of June 23, our area was hit by a quick-moving straight-line wind storm that caused mayhem in its aftermath. The rush-hour storm plowed through Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties before raging on though South Jersey. These fast moving storms raced through our region like a freight train leaving 200,000 homes and businesses without power. Amtrak and Septa trains were halted after the storm produced a path of downed trees, wires, damaged buildings and overturned vehicles including a tractor trailer on I-95 in Delaware County. The intense gales were responsible for a collapsed house under construction in Philadelphia.

Lentzcaping was called to action by PECO and its contractors to provide emergency storm assistance. Our crews were immediately dispatched to help perform tasks to enable PECO Utility Trucks to enter areas impassable by the storm. With access the Utility crews could begin repairs to damaged power lines throughout Delaware and Chester County.

Emergency storm services provided by Lentzcaping in Chester and Delaware counties included, installing environmental matting as a temporary road so larger trucks could cross over to sites in need of emergency repair. Lentzcaping also provided land clearing, tree removal and chipping service for several sites as well as restoring damaged lawn areas by hand grading, applying grass seed, fertilizer, and bales of straw. Crews also installed straw matting on the eroded site to promote germination and to prevent washout from subsequent storms.